A versatile performer, Métis/Canadian Mezzo-Soprano, Rebecca Cuddy, is at home on both the contemporary and classical stage. Hailing from Toronto, Rebecca is ‘fresh and funny with a large, supple voice.’ (Gigcity.ca). Her recent career highlights include the world premiere and Ontario tour of Toronto Concert Orchestra’s Voice of a Nation in which she interpreted a new Métis song cycle by Ian Cusson as a soloist, Mercedes (Cover Carmen) in Mercury Opera and Opera Classica Europa’s production of Carmen, and Frau Viehmann in Opera NUOVA Touring Company’s production of The Brothers Grimm (Burry). Rebecca currently studies in Toronto with Claudiu Stoia.

Rebecca is Métis (Indigenous) and has a keen interest in Indigenous relations and music. She is honoured to be joining Tapestry Opera in May and Opera on the Avalon in June as Kwe/Spirit Chorus in the premiere of Shawnadithit (Yvette Nolan/Dean Burry) and looks forward to her involvement in premiering Riel: Heart of the North(Suzanne Steele/Neil Weissensel) with Regina Symphony in March 2019 and Winnipeg Symphony in January 2020.

Rebecca's 2018 season saw her travelling to Alberta, Canada, first in March when she played the role of Frau Viehmann in Canadian composer Dean Burry's opera The Brothers Grimm with Opera NUOVA's touring company. Then again with Opera NUOVA in June as The Baker's Wife in Sondheim's Into the Woods and Elmire in Mechem's Tartuffe. In August Rebecca joined Mercury Opera and Opera Classica Europa in Drumheller, Alberta as Mercedes (cover Carmen) in their production Carmen in the Badlands.

Rebecca is proud to be a continuous participant in various workshops to develop new Indigenous repertoire and is thrilled to work alongside Indigenous artists. In the fall of 2017 Rebecca toured with Toronto Concert Orchestra presenting Voice of a Nation. She premiered several new works by Métis composer Ian Cusson with texts by Métis poet Marilyn Dumont, in collaboration with the Toronto Concert Orchestra (Maestro Kerry Stratton) and under the direction of Michael Mori (Tapestry Opera). In 2013 she sang at several Métis Nation of Ontario 20th Anniversary events including performances at Toronto City Hall and the Law Society of Upper Canada for the MNO’s Louis Riel Day Celebrations. Rebecca hopes to continue working with Indigenous musicians, composers and representatives in her continuing career.

"Voice of a Nation"

Post performance Q&A session with the artists involved with "Voice of a Nation"

Rebecca has a keen interest in contemporary music and collaborated with Tick Tock on a new opera piece entitled A Certain Sense of Order, which was premiered at “Rough for Opera 15” in March 2017 hosted by Second Movement at the Cockpit Theater. Rebecca was thrilled to have the opportunity to perform this piece again in August 2017 as part of the Tête à Tête Opera Festival, a showcase of new opera works.

Rebecca particularly enjoyed the projects she was involved in during her time at the Royal Academy of Music. The Royal Academy of Music presented a variety of opera scenes in which she played the roles of Dido from Dido and Aeneas (Purcell), Mercedes from Carmen (Bizet) and Cornelia from Giulio Cesare in Egitto (Handel). Rebecca was the featured female soloist alongside baritone Julian Chou-Lambert for The Art of Chaos – Protest at Shoreditch Town Hall, in which she premiered new pieces by Academy composers along with songs by Roberta Flack and PJ Harvey.

"The Art of Chaos - PROTEST" - Contemporary Showcase

Rebecca rehearsing Laurence Morgan's piece "Go Go" with Laurence and the band, at The Ditch, Shoreditch Town Hall, 2017

In 2016, Rebecca made her Bloomsbury Opera debut as Madame Popova in Walton’s the Bear. In 2017 she returned to Bloomsbury Opera as Dinah in their new production Tahiti. This production featured a new contemporary opera entitled Pacific Pleasures by Alannah-Marie Halay as a prelude to Leonard Bernstein’s opera Trouble in Tahiti, directed by Jorge Balça and conducted by Karin Hendrickson.

Rebecca as Madame Popova in Bloomsbury Opera's 2016 production of Walton's opera

In her 2015/16 season Rebecca made her Royal Academy Opera debut in their Opera Scenes Production as Idamante, conducted by Gareth Hancock and directed by John Ramster. She appeared as a chorus member in Royal Academy Opera’s production of Rimsky-Korsakov’s May Night. In her 2014/15 season, she performed the roles of Maman and La Chatte in UWOpera’s (University of Western Ontario) production of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges directed by Michael Cavanaugh and conducted by Alain Trudel. She played Sesto in Accademia Europea Dell’Opera’s production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto directed by ­­­­James Conway and conducted by Jonathan Peter Kenney. At the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy in the summer of 2014 she participated in a variety of scenes and explored various composers work in the operatic repertoire from Mozart to Britten, Verdi to Dvořák. Rebecca was the featured soloist in Depart, a collaborative production between Spitalfields Music, LIFT and the National Center for Circus Arts. In April 2016 she collaborated with the Royal Academy of Music’s Composition Department and premièred three new works in their annual Composition: Songbook Recital.

"May Night" - Royal Academy Opera

The Royal Academy of Music's 2016 production of Rimsky-Korsokov's opera

During her time in London (2015-2017) Rebecca had the pleasure of performing beautiful works with London’s Philharmonia Chorus at numerous concerts in London and throughout Europe. She has performed in world famous venues including the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Festival Hall in London, Palau de la Musica and the Auditoria de la Diputacíon de Alicante in Spain and, and performed Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg in January 2017. Rebecca returned to the Royal Festival Hall in June 2017, performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 by invitation with selected students from the Royal Academy of Music.

Philharmonia Chorus: Beethoven's Missa Solemnis

Rebecca joined London Philharmonia Chorus at the new Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, 2017

Rebecca is the recipient of the Laura Ganley Award (Indpsire), the Bilborough Bursary (Goodenough College), a Canada Council for the Arts grant, and in 2016 and 2017 was a finalist for the Sylva Gelber Foundation Award. She has completed several young artist development programs including the Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, the Accademie Dell Europa Opera and the Jackdaw’s Music Education Trust Singing in Russian Course.

In addition to training in opera, Rebecca has studied dance extensively. She has over 15 years of training in Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Lyrical and Contemporary Dance, as well as more recent experience with ballroom styles. Rebecca has completed Stage Combat Basic Level Certificate from Fight Directors of Canada and is proficient in hand-to-hand stage combat, rapier and quarterstaff.